Unwarranted Arrogance

Arrogance has never been an attractive personality trait. It is even less attractive when it is unwarranted. When I meet a person that is not particularly good looking, not particularly talented or not particularly intelligent that walks around with a swagger as though they are "king shit", I automatically assume that they are either a gang member, a member of a weird religious cult or a government employee. Who else, besides an individual with the power of a group behind them, would engage in such behavior? This is, of course, assuming that they are not delusional.

It has been my experience that people with genuine abilities will have the tendency to downplay them. The reason should be obvious. They do not feel the need to prove themselves.

Spiritual Warfare

These charlatans, these public pietists
Whose sacrilegious and perfidious manners
Deliberately betray and parody
All that men hold most hallowed and most sacred.
These are the people who for mean advantage
Make piety their trade and merchandise,
And try to buy credit and offices,
Rolling their eyes and mouthing holy words
Their pilgrim's progress take the road to heaven
As a short, easy way to wordily fortune.
We see them pray with one hand out for alms;
They preach of solitude, but stay at court
And with their holy zeal they keep their vices;
They're vengeful, faithless, treacherous, and tricky.
And to destroy an enemy, they cover
Their savage hate with heaven's interest.
And when they hate, they're the more dangerous,
Because they take up weapons we revere,
Because their fury, to general applause,
Takes an anointed sword to stab our backs

-Molière
Tartuffe

D List Virtue

There is a fine example! That good woman
She lives austerely now, that's true enough;
But age has put this ardor in her soul,
And makes her play the prude, despite herself.
As long as men would pay their court to her,
She made her graces work for her advantage.
But her allurements ceasing to allure,
She quits society, which quitted her,
And with a veil of virtue tries to hide
The dimming of her antiquated charms.
This is the classic fate of old coquettes;
They hate to see their gallants disappear.
Unhappy and abandoned, they can see
No other recourse than the trade of prude.
And these good women with severity
Make universal censure, pardon nothing.
Loudly they blame the lives of everyone,
Not out of charity, but out of envy,
Which can't endure that any woman share
In pleasures time has thieved away from them.

-Molière
Tartuffe